Resilient Palisades Community Meeting Highlights Local Efforts, Teams

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades hosted a community meeting on Thursday, March 4, inviting neighbors to learn more about different teams and efforts to address a number of issues.

Co-Founder Ingrid Steinberg began the community meeting by shedding light on work being done by students from Palisades Charter High School’s Human Rights Watch Student Task Force, which aims to raise awareness and inspire activism in its young members.

The students shared that this year, they are working hard to transition Pali High to 100% renewable energy as soon as possible.

“We really can’t afford to keep waiting for this to happen, that’s why we must take action now,” Pali High senior Serena Broome said. “Most schools are the largest fossil fuel energy consumers in the community … by transitioning to 100% renewable energy, we’ll be decreasing the demand for fossil fuels.

“In order to overcome the obstacles that prevent Pali from transitioning … we’ll need your help and support.”

The students presented a petition to help enact change. On behalf of Resilient Palisades, Steinberg declared the organization’s support in helping the students meet their goal.

The four organization teams of Resilient Palisades then presented their different goals to attendees.

Member Ryan Craig introduced the first on the lineup, the Solar Energy Team, sharing it has been busy the last few months making plans for what it might be able to accomplish in the Palisades in regards to solar energy.

Craig said the team aims to establish a residential community microgrid. He explained a community microgrid would revitalize the electric grid and offer a pathway to a resilient, and less expensive, energy system.

“It will allow us to reduce our electricity bills, reduce our emissions and finally increase our resilience as a community,” Craig said. “If we have our own … microgrid, we won’t be as reliant on the macrogrid—the LADWP grid—at the event of a blackout or national disaster.

“It’s never been done before in an established, built community like the Palisades, but we feel if anyone can do it, we can do it.”

Member Aleksandar Pavlović of the Food Impact Team said its objective is to raise awareness in the Palisades regarding food choices and the impact they have on the environment, and ultimately increase sustainable food options within the community.

“The animal agriculture industry has a harmful impact on our ecosystem, so our team would like to approach this issue by effectively reaching out to individuals and businesses that provide food in our community and assist in building a greater connection with our food that we eat,” he said.

The Clean Air and Water Team’s mission is to foster a healthier environment for everyone through local action to promote clean air and water.

“We decided for our first campaign to pick an issue the Palisades can really rally around … gas-powered leaf blowers,” member Susan Fairbairn said.

“Our initial campaign is to reduce our community’s output of air pollutants, carcinogens, climate-changing emissions and fuel spills by inspiring, empowering and supporting a shift to zero-emissions garden practices,” according to the team’s webpage.

The Zero Waste Team presented last and shared it is interested in combating climate change. To do this, the team is encouraging composting and keeping organic matters out of landfills.

A workshop took place on Tuesday, March 16, to teach the community more about composting.

The team also recently launched a campaign in the Palisades in support of Habits of Waste’s “Cut Out Cutlery,” which eliminates the automatic inclusion of plastic cutlery with delivery and takeout meals.

“We are hoping for 100% participation from Pacific Palisades restaurants,” according to the team’s webpage.

A number of restaurants are already part of the campaign, including The Draycott, Porta Via, Vittorio’s, Caffe Delfini, Casa Nostra Ristorante and Trattoria, and others.

For more information or to get involved, visit resilientpalisades.org.